Warlock III: The End of Innocence

Warlock III: The End of Innocence is a 1999 direct-to-video horror film written by Bruce David Eisen and Eric Freiser and also directed by the latter. It is the third film in a series that started with the 1989 Warlock. The first two films star Julian Sands as the Warlock, but Warlock III stars Bruce Payne in the titular role of The Warlock.

Warlock III: The End of Innocence
DVD cover
Directed byEric Freiser
Produced byBruce David Eisen
Written byBruce David Eisen
Eric Freiser
StarringBruce Payne
Ashley Laurence
Boti Bliss
Angel Boris
Paul Francis
Rick Hearst
Jan Schweiterman
Music byDavid Reynolds
CinematographyAndrew Turman
Edited byGreg Finton
Distributed byTrimark Pictures
Release date
  • October 12, 1999 (1999-10-12)
Running time
94 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$2,000,000

The film was shot in Roger Corman's studio in Ireland.

Plot

The story tells of a young girl called Kris who has no knowledge of her family, so when a historian tells her she has inherited a family house, she goes to see it. Also met is her boyfriend Michael, who desperate not to follow his dream like his father, Scott and Lisa, who are sadomasochistic, Jerry, who is a stoner, and her best friend Robin, who is a witch.

Kris is haunted by visions and dreams of her past life and of a doll from her past life, it is learned that a warlock, Phillip Covington, wanted her as a sacrifice until her mother used her own magic to trap him in the Catacombs of his home. Kris's night in the house is full of strange events; she looks in the mirror and feels the urge to show her breasts and when she turns her reflection screams at her, only to go back to normal when she looks. She also sees an apparition of a child and sensibly decides to leave and be joined by her friends.

Jerry attempts to fix the pipes, and accidentally breaks them, releasing Covington, who escapes in the form of some kind of fluid, which Jerry attributes to being high.

Kris meets the historian the next day as well as Covington, posing as an architect. Covington kills the historian, strangling him using magic and then tearing his throat out with his bare hands. He takes the letters from Kris's mother and blows on them, setting them alight.

Covington then plays psychological games with Kris and her friends, the only exception being Robin, so he gets Jerry to steal her talisman and a lock of her hair. Robin attempts to fight Covington with magic, but being the more experienced, he wins, turning Robin into a glass statue and then shattering her.

Later, Covington needs Kris's friends for permission, so he tortures them. Lisa and Scott get a sadomasochism treatment from hell, Jerry gets to see what Kris thinks of him with a slight twist, and Micheal is turned into his father.

Covington captures Kris, and he reveals that he plans to exchange her soul with a consort from hell to mother a race of evil. This is because Kris is a "Child of the Caul" born on a blue moon, the blood of a witch coursing through her. Kris escapes and fights back Covington, who begins to take a more demonic appearance, holding the doll from her visions. She takes the sacrificial blade and stabs him, however, Covington is unaffected by the knife, saying: 'you think you can defeat me with my own weapon?' to which Kris replies: 'no with mine' and rips the doll from his hands and opens it, revealing a knife. She then stabs him in the heart, successfully killing him.

Kris leaves with a book of magic, reading the tarot card on strength and walking into a new life.

Cast

Reception

The film has received mixed reviews, although Bruce Payne's performance was praised. Richard Scheib, writing for The Science Fiction, Horror and Fantasy Film Review Database said that "as the Warlock, Bruce Payne, an actor who has magnificently theatrical charisma and presence is actually better in the part than the perpetually overwrought Julian Sands.".[1] The film critic John Fallon stated that Payne gave "a charismatic, subdued scary performance" in the film and that he "couldn't take" his "eyes off him" as he was "all charm".[2] Payne was described as a suave warlock by The Fresno Bee.[3] The director of the film, Eric Freiser, stated that "in the first two movies, Julian was very smooth as the character, but Bruce makes for a scarier villain. You feel he is capable of more evil than Julian".[4] John Fallon gave the film a score of three and a half out of four.[5] A reviewer for Beyond Hollywood stated that the film is 'actually quite interesting, if a bit slow and plodding for the first hour'.[6] A reviewer for A.V. club stated that 'it may be blandly competent, but everything about Warlock III seems painfully arbitrary'.[7] In contrast, Richard Scheib stated that 'Warlock 3 is a halfway good film, certainly a lot better than the second one. It is rather flatly lit, but director Eric Freiser generates some often quite unusual atmosphere – like scenes where Ashley Laurence turns away from a mirror and unseen by her her reflection starts screaming; one victim being transformed into glass and then shattered; and a scene where Ashley Laurence thinks she has broken through a wall and runs away to freedom, only to become caught in a loop where she is not only running over and over but also watching herself run'.[8]

References
  1. Scheib, Ricard. "WARLOCK: THE END OF INNOCENCE". Moria. Retrieved 8 May 2011.
  2. Fallon, John. "Arrow In The Head's movie review of Warlock 3: The End of Innocence: Bruce Payne/Warlock, Ashley Laurence/Kris, Paul Francis/Michael". Joblo.com. Retrieved 8 May 2011.
  3. "WARLOCK 3 ACTORS RISE ABOVE TYPICAL GORE". The Fresno Bee. 14 October 1999. Retrieved 25 August 2011.
  4. Ferrante, Anthony C. "Warlock III: The End of Innocence; A New Spell is Cast". Fangoria. Retrieved 29 August 2011.
  5. Fallon, John. "Arrow In The Head's movie review of Warlock 3: The End of Innocence: Bruce Payne/Warlock, Ashley Laurence/Kris, Paul Francis/Michael". Joblo.com. Retrieved 8 May 2011.
  6. NIX (22 September 2003). "Warlock III: The End of Innocence (1999) Movie Review". BeyondHollywood.com. Retrieved 29 August 2013.
  7. Rabin, Nathan (29 March 2002). "Warlock III: The End Of Innocence". A.V. Club. Retrieved 29 August 2013.
  8. Scheib, Ricard. "WARLOCK: THE END OF INNOCENCE". Moria. Retrieved 8 May 2011.
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